Much Done, Much To Do

Orange County Chairman Linda Chapin Won't Run Again, But The Momentum She Set Will Be Needed Next Year And Beyond.

November 5, 1993|By Azure

In the past three years, Linda Chapin has led Orange County in a new direction with style, character and a rare ability to accomplish things.

Now that she has announced plans not to seek a second term as county chairman, the new direction and momentum she has established must not be allowed to falter.

As the county's first elected chairman, Mrs. Chapin took on the overwhelming task of trying to get commissioners with diminished powers to work together while she held the reins of government.

So, it is to Mrs. Chapin's credit that she has been able to corral the support she needed to launch the South Apopka Project and an ambitious park-building plan. Additionally, her term has seen the expansion of the convention center and a decision to build a new courthouse.

Mrs. Chapin also has put aside petty parochialism and tried to promote Central Florida as a region, uniting surrounding counties for transportation and business-recruitment purposes.

The Orlando Sentinel did not endorse Mrs. Chapin when she ran for the job, and the newspaper has not always agreed with her decisions. For instance, her approval of a town-size development in east Orange County conflicted with the need to contain growth in a manageable area. More often than not, though, we have been in accord.

Mrs. Chapin has proven capable of taking the county in a new direction, and she deserves the support she needs to further her efforts during her last year in office.

Even with only 12 months left in her term, she can lead Orange County toward getting a professional baseball team, a slate of new parks and a better transportation system.

That can happen if the political bickering that has dogged the Orange County Commission of late is brought to an end. In her State of the County speech Thursday, Mrs. Chapin took note of that discord in explaining her decision not to seek a second term. ''I am unwilling,'' she said, ''to submit (my) agenda to the vicissitudes and the circus-like environment that others would make of a political year.''

Such an unproductive environment, and those who make it so, are part of the problem, not the solution.

Some of the projects Mrs. Chapin began - and others to come - soon will need another crusader.

Orange County's next chairman, at the very least, should be someone with a vision for the area's future, the steady temperament necessary to gain consensus among other elected officials and a record of seeing projects through to a successful completion.

Despite an often-contentious backdrop, a strong new direction has been set for Orange County. For that, Mrs. Chapin deserves credit. That course must continue to be pursued in the coming year and, with strong leadership, in years to come.